Would you take this deal on a hybrid if you were trying to budget?

dog8food

Well, I suddenly need to buy a car. I have a small budget so I was either gonna go for a cheap new one (Nissan Versa) or a used one from someone I know.

Someone is offering me their 2007 Civic Hybrid with only 45k miles for only $9000. It's in great shape and I trust this person. The only thing is, I've heard certain stories about the cost of maintenance for the hybrids. She just had a new battery installed so I wouldn't have to worry about that for some years. But down the road, I'm not sure if maintenance costs would hurt me.

I really can't afford anything over $13000 (price of a Versa). What would you do in this situation?

kyfdx

dog8food said:

Well, I suddenly need to buy a car. I have a small budget so I was either gonna go for a cheap new one (Nissan Versa) or a used one from someone I know.

Someone is offering me their 2007 Civic Hybrid with only 45k miles for only $9000. It's in great shape and I trust this person. The only thing is, I've heard certain stories about the cost of maintenance for the hybrids. She just had a new battery installed so I wouldn't have to worry about that for some years. But down the road, I'm not sure if maintenance costs would hurt me.

I really can't afford anything over $13000 (price of a Versa). What would you do in this situation?

Even though the Versa is one of my least favorite cars, a new Versa for $13K is going to be a lot cheaper in the long run than an 8 (!) year old Civic Hybrid for $9K. As you noted, your repair costs on a hybrid carry the potential for being a lot more expensive than on a standard gas model.

If this was a short term bridge to another vehicle (say, under 2 years), then the cheaper car may be the way to go... but, if you need long-term bang for your buck, then go with the new Versa.